Aftermath Of The Blanks
by Not Much To Be Proud Of
Summary: Apple Bloom, shaken to the core after her experience in Sunny Town, quite frankly loses her mind. Spoilers for Story of the Blanks. Beware of typos.


"Stay with us. _Forever._"

She had a feeling that those words would never leave the deepest and darkest recesses of her memory, no matter how old she grew. Even if they were uttered in an entirely different context, it would likely send her into a complete anxiety attack.

The nightmares were the worst part. Every single night for two weeks she had relived the most hellish part of her entire life. Her grades were slipping, even her usually rather oblivious friends had noticed something was up, but that didn't matter to Apple Bloom. She swore to herself that she would never, ever tell a soul what had happened in the Everfree Forest two weeks ago.

She had followed Twilight Sparkle, Ponyville's resident librarian and faithful student of Princess Celestia herself, into the forest after much begging and pleading on the earth pony's part. The journey had been short and simple—after all, Twilight was only going to the zebra Zecora's house to drop off some books. But even after Zecora's mysterious warning about how the two needed to leave the forest before nightfall, neither Apple Bloom nor Twilight Sparkle dwelled on it too much.

Yet, as soon as they were about to leave, several trees had fallen in front of the path that led back to Ponyville, leaving them trapped. Twilight went to work removing the trees with her magic, but not only was the procedure painstaking and slow, Apple Bloom was bored out of her mind.

That was when _she_ appeared and led Apple Bloom into the worst night of her life.

That was all she could stand to think about when she relived the encounter. Anything past that would immediately bring tears of fear to her eyes and make her begin shivering violently.

She had told her friends that she was fine, it was just that she was finding the homework a little harder and was determined to understand it as best she could, staying up really late after her family went to bed to study. Sure, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had exchanged skeptical glances, but they didn't push the subject any further.

Apple Bloom also knew that her family was even more suspicious than her friends were. Apple Bloom tried to keep herself awake during the night now, but the young filly couldn't ever last the whole night without sleeping. And without fail, once she did pass out, she'd be jolted awake again due to her daily nightmares. More often than not she woke herself up screaming, causing Big Macintosh and Applejack to come running. She would always wave them off by saying that she just had a nightmare, which wasn't exactly a lie. But she knew that they were steadily becoming more and more concerned, evident by their long talks into the night after they thought she had gone to bed.

It was getting harder and harder to ignore the psychological damage she had been forced to endure. She was snappier without meaning to be, which was probably due to her lack of sleep. She had lost much of her appetite. She was nearly emotionless now, which was obviously freaking out her friends and inadvertently turning away the bullies that she had thought for a while were the most stressful things in her life. And she also found she despised ghost stories, while before she didn't really mind them.

Every day Applejack would ask her if something was wrong, and if she needed someone to talk to. Every day Apple Bloom would turn her down, and every day they both knew she was lying. After all, Applejack was _the_ Element of Honesty, and she did have a knack, somewhat ironically, for detecting lies. Even so, the most brain-dead of ponies could see that something was clearly wrong with Apple Bloom, no Elements of Harmony required.

Apple Bloom began to suspect that her daily attempted talking-tos by Applejack were because of her older sister's friends. Rarity was also Sweetie Belle's sister, and while Apple Bloom knew the young unicorn was not the tattling type, she must have let something slip about how weird the earth pony was acting. Rarity hadn't let it go and tried to talk to Applejack about it. Apple Bloom also hypothesized that Twilight Sparkle had overheard and discussed what had happened, as far as she knew, during their trip to the Everfree Forest.

That was why Applejack was waiting in the Cutie Mark Crusaders' tree house when Apple Bloom came home from school.

"Where are—" Apple Bloom began.

"Ah told 'em to wait in the barn. Ah need to talk to you, Apple Bloom."

The filly suddenly became very interested in the decent woodwork of the clubhouse. After all, she had fixed it up almost all by herself.

Applejack sighed. This was going to be really tough. "Sugarcube, Ah need you to tell me what happened when you and Twilight went to the Everfree Forest a couple weeks ago."

Apple Bloom wasn't surprised at all. "Ah won't."

Applejack winced. "And why not?"

"Because." Apple Bloom glared at her older sister, doing her best to hide the fear that was already beginning to shadow her at the mere thought of reliving the event.

Applejack brought a hoof up to her face. "Please, Apple Bloom. This is serious. All of us are worried about you. Ya ain't been the same since then, and we all need to know what happened."  
>"That's my business, and Ah want y'all to stay out of it," Apple Bloom snapped.<p>

"Apple Bloom." Applejack was starting to frown now. "Ya ain't only hurtin' us, you're hurtin' yourself by keepin' this secret from us. For Celestia's sake, have ya seen your grades recently? Rarity's even told me Sweetie Belle's kinda scared of ya since ya've been actin' so differently."

"That's her problem, and Ah have my own to worry about. Leave me alone!"

Even though she knew the older pony was much faster and could catch up to her in no time, she began to run toward the barn, where her friends were. She looked back briefly and saw that Applejack actually wasn't giving chase, just staring at her with this strange mix of sadness, anger, and disappointment prominent on her face. Apple Bloom kept running.

It was only just as she reached the barn that she realized her eyes were wet. Wiping them with a hoof and hoping that the other Crusaders wouldn't notice, she walked in and tossed her schoolbags in a corner. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had been deep in conversation before, but stopped and looked up when Apple Bloom entered.

"Didn't Applejack want to talk to you?" asked Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom couldn't help but think about what Applejack said and realized that Rarity's sister did seem to be more timid. She was nearly hiding behind Scootaloo, but in a way that it was an almost believable coincidence. Almost.

She nodded. "Yeah, but it didn't last very long. What are we gonna do now?"

Scootaloo shrugged as Apple Bloom plopped down beside her. "Dunno. We're still thinking." Her face suddenly lit up with an idea. "I got it! Cutie Mark Crusaders Skydivers!"

"And how do you suppose we do that?" asked Apple Bloom.

"Oh, come on! Skydivers always have these saddlebags that have little parachutes in them. Our schoolbags are good enough, right? All we have to do is get Rainbow Dash to fly us up really high and then drop us!"

"She can't carry all of us," pointed out Sweetie Belle.

Scootaloo seemed about to make a retort on how Rainbow Dash could do anything, realized that the speedy pegasus actually wasn't too great when it came to strength and stamina, and shrugged. "Then she'll carry us up one at a time, I guess. Or we could get Fluttershy, too!"

"Are you kiddin'? She'll either refuse, and if she agrees by some miracle, she'll chicken out and drop us way too early," snorted Apple Bloom.

Scootaloo huffed, "Well, I don't see you coming up with any good ideas!"

"I'm tryin' to think!"

"Then think harder!"

"Stop yellin' at me!"

"You started it!"  
>"Did not!"<p>

"Did too!"

"QUIET!"

The sudden shriek came from Sweetie Belle. Both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo whipped around in surprise. The unicorn stood up and began walking toward the door, still frowning.

"I'm tired of you guys's yelling. Maybe I'll see you later."

She left without another word. Apple Bloom snorted again. "What's got her all saddlesore?"

Scootaloo placed her head in her hooves. "Seriously, Apple Bloom? Look, for like, weeks now, you've been acting weird. We both noticed within days, you know. Something's up, it doesn't take a genius to know that."

"And that's none of your business," Apple Bloom practically growled.

"See? Like that," Scootaloo said, waving a hoof in her direction. "You're all crabby. I mean, usually you're a forgiving pony, but now—"  
>"Ah don't wanna hear what you think is wrong with me!" yelled Apple Bloom. "First Applejack, now you! Just…just shut up, okay!"<p>

The fillies locked eyes, Apple Bloom still burning with rage, and Scootaloo wondering whether or not she should fight back. Finally Apple Bloom turned on her heel and walked straight out of the clubhouse, leaving her bags and Scootaloo behind. The orange pegasus closed her eyes tightly, composing herself before she exited the clubhouse as well and climbed on her scooter. There was only one pony she wanted to see, and there was also no way she would let that pony see her cry.

"Ah just can't believe this is happening to my baby sister," Applejack said in a strained voice. The rest of her friends were crowded around a table in Sugarcube Corner, all, even Pinkie Pie, having serious looks on their faces.

"And the worst part is, she just flat-out refuses to say anything about what went wrong," the earth pony continued.

Twilight Sparkle shook her head sadly. "I'm no psychologist, but to me it seems that Apple Bloom is going through symptoms of PSTD."

After being greeted with blank stares, she sighed and added, "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It's not really much of a secret that she went through a lot during our trip to Everfree, but she never said a word about it when we were coming back. She just sort of clung to me and acted really paranoid. I think she's trying and failing to keep her emotions bottled up inside, which victims of PSTD are known to do sometimes."

"It would help if you explained what this Post-thingy is," Pinkie Pie pointed out in uncharacteristic annoyance.

"Right. It's basically when ponies go through something really stressful and they don't know what to do about their feelings, even after the event has passed and they turn out to be fine. Personally, I think the main reason Apple Bloom is acting so differently is because of a combination of fear and paranoia." She ignored Rainbow Dash's grumbled "No, really?" and continued.

"My hypothesis is that Apple Bloom had a near-death experience in Everfree. It could have been something mundane or even," she grimaced involuntarily, "supernatural, but it must have come as a huge shock. Obviously."

"It would help if she would tell me what the hay happened, but her lips are sealed," Applejack groaned.

"Sweetie Belle is concerned as well," Rarity added, "but apparently not even the other 'Crusaders' can get her to talk."

"About that," Rainbow Dash said, "Scoots managed to find me right after Apple Bloom walked out on her, or so she said. Like Rarity said, Apple Bloom completely snapped and started yelling at her when Scoots asked what the deal was. She's not talking, no matter what. And might I add, Scoots was also _this_ close to tears. Apple Bloom is even tearing her friendships apart."

"I just feel so bad for her," Fluttershy whimpered. "All of them, actually, and especially you and your family, Applejack. If there's anything I can do to help…"

"Agreed!" Pinkie Pie suddenly shouted, a faint ghost of a smile appearing on her face. "Applejack, if you need anything from any of us, we'll all do your best to help, right?"

Applejack looked around at her friends, all of whom were also smiling and nodding in a bittersweet way. "Thanks a lot, girls. Ah really appreciate your help, but…Ah think this is something that Apple Bloom can only figure out with the rest of the family. Rest assured, though, if Ah do end up needin' help, I'll be sure to ask. I mean, we don't want another Applebuck Season, right?"

Everyone laughed weakly and began to file out of Sugarcube Corner, save for the obvious exception of Pinkie Pie. Luna's moon hung bright in the sky as Applejack turned away from the others to return to Sweet Apple Acres, dragging her hooves. As soon as she opened the door she saw Big Macintosh standing and waiting for her.

"Just wanted to tell ya…Apple Bloom's been sound asleep for almost an hour. Think that's the longest she's slept for weeks, and—"

He was cut off by a bloodcurdling scream coming from just upstairs. Even though the two older ponies were used to it, it didn't mean they were any less startled or concerned. Applejack muttered, "Go to bed, Big Mac. Ah'll handle it this time," and raced upstairs.

Apple Bloom had stopped screaming and lay with her head in her pillow, sobbing deeply. Applejack approached softly, gently offering a hoof and placing it on her back. Apple Bloom leaned toward her older sister slightly, still sobbing into her pillow. "Ah can't do this anymore, Applejack, Ah just can't!"

"It's all right, Sugarcube, it was just a nightmare." _Again_, she added silently.

"Ah mean Ah can't keep hidin' this from y'all! It's drivin' me insane!" Apple Bloom moaned, her voice still muffled.

Applejack suddenly felt as if she had been beaned in the face with an apple tree. Was Apple Bloom really going to finally tell her about it? And did she really want to know?  
>The earth pony bent down so she was eye to eye with Apple Bloom. The filly finally looked up, tears still rolling down her cheeks.<p>

"It doesn't matter anyway," she sniffled. "You're not gonna believe me. Ah didn't tell Twilight 'cause Ah knew she wouldn't."

"Apple Bloom, if something is tearin' you up inside this much, Ah'd be best inclined to believe it. Ah'm all ears."  
>"Okay…it started like this…"<p>

Scootaloo had always found that riding her scooter, no matter how fast or for how long, always helped clear her mind. Without fail she always drifted away from her problems and to a basic pattern of how good the wind felt in her mane and to watch out for that pony. She had been cruising at an average pace, not exactly feeling the need for speed just yet. Besides, at that moment she was looking for someone, which she reminded herself of every time she glanced up at the sky, hoping that she would find what she was searching for.

Her efforts had finally been rewarded when she saw the tip of a rainbow-streaked tail hanging lazily over a low-lying cloud. She halted, took off her helmet, and yelled, "Rainbow Dash!"

The pegasus stuck her head over the cloud, frowning, but her irritated glare vanished once she saw Scootaloo. Immediately she had launched herself off the cloud, doing a few loops in midair before landing softly on the ground, smiling as she listened to the surrounding ponies murmur, presumably about how awesome she was.

"Hey, Pipsqueak." Rainbow Dash reached out a hoof and affectionately ruffled Scootaloo's mane. "What's up?"

The filly had frowned as she remembered why she searched for her idol in the first place. She sighed finally. "It's about Apple Bloom…"

Rainbow Dash sucked in air through her teeth. "Right. I guess things aren't exactly going great with her acting the way she is, right?"

Scootaloo nodded almost timidly. "All three of us had a fight today. Both Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom walked out on me."

Dash sat down, having a rarely-seen concerned look on her face. "Tell me. I have time."

"Okay…"

When she had finally finished, she had a headache caused from the tears she had held in, hating herself for being such a weakling. She had been in the very presence of Nightmare Moon herself, but she kept it together then. Why was this the straw that broke the camel's back?

Rainbow Dash had been listening with rapt attention throughout the whole story, and she sat back a little bit. She shook her head. "Thanks for the story, Scoots. Apple Bloom's gone too far if she's starting to hurt her friends, whether she meant to or not. I'll have to talk to Applejack later today." She had turned around as if to take flight, stopped, and twisted her head back. "Maybe you should go see Sweetie Belle. Let her know she's not the only one weirded out."

The sky-blue Pegasus spread her wings and returned back to her cloud, this time appearing to be in deep thought instead of lazing around like she usually did. Scootaloo exhaled and climbed back onto her scooter, riding back toward Ponyville.

"Rarity?" Sweetie Belle's voice quavered from the doorway. The older unicorn groaned inwardly. "Sweetie Belle, I'm very busy. Is this important?"

"Yes. Well, no, I mean, kinda…"

Rarity could tell by her voice, which was continuing to tremble, that something was, in fact, wrong. Weighing her choices, she figured that she could stay up a little later than normal to finish the order of dresses she was working on if whatever Sweetie Belle's 'trouble' could be solved quickly and easily. She called back to the closed door, "Come in."

The filly pushed open the door and clambered up onto Rarity's bed, where she watched her continue to sew and add the occasional gem to the piece of fabric she was so concentrated on. This awkward silence continued until Rarity, who had been evenly dividing her attention toward her dress and Sweetie Belle, finally snapped, "Well? You did come here for a reason, didn't you?"

"Apple Bloom scares me!" Sweetie Belle finally burst out, making Rarity's hooves halt suddenly as she turned around to look at her little sister.

"Well, I'm not really scared," she backtracked, "but she's just been acting so strange! And she won't tell us why! It's been so long since she's been normal, so she can't be playing a joke on us. So that means that something really bad must have happened, and I'm scared to think of what that might be. I just want her back to the way everything used to be!"

Rarity, who wasn't new to Apple Bloom's most recent problem, was suddenly caught off-guard by how affected Sweetie Belle was by her friend's changes. She realized it never occurred to her how the other "Cutie Mark Crusaders" would take it, and seeing how Applejack herself was being torn apart by it…

"Oh, Sweetie Belle," she sighed, at last turning away from her sewing machine and approaching the bed. "I simply can't imagine what this must be like for you."

"It sucks," Sweetie Belle clarified, and when she saw the look on Rarity's face, she added, "Scootaloo says it all the time!"

Choosing to admonish her for her language later, Rarity said, "Apple Bloom is going through a rough time right now, and everypony is trying to figure out what caused it. When she feels better, she'll tell you and Scootaloo about it, I'm sure. But for now you need to be patient. She'll tell you on her own time, and I'm sorry to say, this doesn't seem to be it."

Sweetie Belle had nothing to say in response, so Rarity continued. "You see, Apple Bloom is kind of like…" Her mind raced until she thought of an appropriate analogy. "A sewing machine. If you try to jam too much fabric in it at once, it breaks and then it won't do anything at all. But if you work with it instead of against it, letting it do things at its own tempo, then it will work just fine. If Apple Bloom has so many ponies asking her about what happened all at one time, she'll 'jam up' and won't talk to anypony about it, maybe even for forever. But right now, Applejack and the rest of the family are trying to ease their way into what happened, so it will be more likely that Apple Bloom will talk. Does that make sense?"

"I guess. So you're saying I just have to stick it out?"  
>"I'm afraid so." Rarity stepped forward and nuzzled Sweetie Belle gently. "But as soon as Apple Bloom is better, I think she'll be just as ready to do…whatever you Crusaders do, just as usual." She smiled, and to her relief, saw it reflected weakly back at her. "Everything's going to be fine."<p>

Apple Bloom saw the entire scene flash before her eyes yet again. She carefully stepped into the house, hearing the door slam shut behind her due to a sudden gust of wind. The only thing she could see was a dim, red light at the opposite wall. Even though every instinct was screaming at her to turn around, go back and leave Sunny Town forever, her hooves moved all on their own toward what she noticed was a fireplace.

She was almost disappointed when she realized it was just completely ordinary. There was nothing special about it. She was just about to turn tail and leave when something caught her eye. She crept just a few inches closer.

For the first of many times that night, the icy claws of fear gripped her heart as she realized just what she was staring at. In the dim light it had looked like just a weirdly-shaped pile of ashes, but now...

It was a skeleton of a pony, probably just a few months older than herself. She could have counted every bone if she felt so inclined, the skeleton was so perfectly, and unnaturally, intact. But the worst part…the very worst part, was that the pony's lower jaw looked almost unhinged. As if the pony to whom it belonged had been screaming in agony when it died.

"No…"

And with that last narration, all of Apple Bloom's coherency flew out the window as she completely and utterly broke down in Applejack's hooves. For over ten minutes straight she sobbed, completely oblivious to the fact that Applejack was also letting a few tears fall. She only stopped once her tear ducts just quit, and she was left hiccupping pitifully.

Applejack hadn't said a word, and she resolved not to in case she somehow managed to scare Apple Bloom out of talking about it.

"An-and that's when Ah ran right out of the house and b-back into Sunny Town, b-but nothin' was the same there anymore," she continued in a high-pitched and shaky voice. "All the houses had b-broken down and it turned black a-as night and none of the ponies were there anymore…until…" She tried to cry again, but nothing happened. "T-Three Leaf came up out of the ground as a z-zombie pony!" she finally wailed, causing Applejack to finally say her first words in several minutes.

"Zombie pony?" she repeated.

"Y-Yeah," Apple Bloom whimpered. "S-She had glowin' red eyes and her skin was fallin' off and every time she moved there was this sound like her bones were breaking…And then she started talking 'bout how someone had 'T-The Mark' and how she had to go, w-whatever that meant. That's when Ah started runnin' faster than Ah ever have in my whole life, and more zombie ponies started chasing me, and they were sayin' things like how Ah would be safe if Ah stayed with 'em and they wouldn't ever let anything like that happen to me, but Ah just ran! And then Mitta came up out of the ground just as Ah was almost out of Sunny Town, and she said things about how she could have saved 'her', but she didn't, and that this was all of their punishment. And, and somehow, she let me go."

Applejack's eyes were as wide as the low-hanging moon just outside. "So that's it? This 'Mitta' pony just let you go free?"

"That's not all," sniffled Apple Bloom. "As soon as Ah was out of Sunny Town, a bunch of other zombie ponies just kept appearin' out of nowhere. They didn't say nothin', just chased me, and there was a lot of them, and they all followed me until Ah finally reached this clearing with glowing hoofsteps…and Ah didn't have anywhere else to go, so I followed them, and there was this pony, waiting for me. Her name was Ruby, and she was the ghost of the pony they killed in the fireplace. She said that she was sorry she brought me into this, and how she was just curious…but it wasn't her fault, Ah couldn't blame her for bein' killed, so Ah said so. And then she said that her cutie mark was a magnifyin' glass, which meant she was good at findin' things, and she promised me that she would find me a way out of this mess.

"And then a whole bunch of zombie ponies just randomly came out of the ground, and they were walkin' toward us, and then Ruby suddenly lets out this scream, and a big ball of light appears out of nowhere and almost completely blinds me. The only thing Ah could see was that all the zombie ponies just kinda melted, and then Ah was back in the normal part of the Everfree Forest, and that's when Twilight found me."

Applejack didn't even know where to begin. This entire story was ridiculously hard to believe, and it crossed her mind, not for the first time that night, that Apple Bloom had been stringing her along. But the entire time the pale yellow filly had been staring at her with widened eyes, begging and pleading for her sister's trust. And the more Applejack just stood there dumbly, the more likely it was that Apple Bloom would think of her as a liar.

"Sugarcube, it's a lot to take in," Applejack began hesitantly, realizing that she still didn't know whether or not to believe her. "But that doesn't mean Ah don't believe you," she added quickly, just in case Apple Bloom were to get the wrong idea.

"It's okay if you don't," Apple Bloom sighed. "Ah don't have any proof anyways, why should you believe me? Why should anypony?"

"Because we care about you enough that we can tell you're not lying," Applejack replied in a much smoother tone of voice than even she would have expected. "Ah mean, even all the other girls are worried sick about you. What kind of friends would they be to go, 'She'll get over it,' and go about their business? And what kind of family would me and Big Mac and Granny Smith be if we ignored you too?" She smiled in what she hoped was an encouraging way.

"So…so does that mean y'all believe me?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Ah know Ah do. And I'm sure that if Ah tell anypony else, they'll believe you too." She paused. "That is, if ya want me to tell anypony else."

Apple Bloom shook her head vigorously. "No! Ah mean, no thanks. Ah'll tell everypony else on my own. Eventually."

"Right. Well, Ah hope you know Ah'm gonna have to tell Big Mac. He'll be scared to death unless he knows what's goin' on."

Apple Bloom giggled, the first sign of genuine happiness she had shown in weeks. "Ya think Big Mac's scared?"

"Terrified," Applejack answered, smiling in spite of herself and the subject matter. If something could scare Big Macintosh, of all ponies, then whatever it was needed to be feared more than death itself. "Is it okay with you?"

"I guess," Apple Bloom replied, trying and failing to suppress a huge yawn. Applejack paused on her way out the door.

"Thanks, Applejack," her sister mumbled into her pillow, already half-asleep. Applejack gave one final smile.

"No problem."

"So you're seriously saying that there's a whole town of zombie ponies in here?"  
>"And a ghost?"<p>

"Yep!" Apple Bloom answered cheerfully, standing in between Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo at the entrance to the Everfree Forest.

"And if you have a cutie mark they'll actually kill you?"  
>"Yep!"<br>"And this hasn't mentally scarred you for life so you're a twisted shell of the pony you once were, shunning all contact with anything sentient and living through your Celestia-fearing, bleak life?" Sweetie Belle questioned innocently.

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom gave her shocked, disturbed stares.

"Rarity let me watch TV last night!" the unicorn chirped in response.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," Scootaloo said, peering deeper into the forest ahead. "Zombie ponies. I bet Rainbow Dash would make 'em wish they were really dead for good!"

"Nah, I think that they would cut off her cutie mark and wear it as a dress, and then make her flesh into cupcakes."

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo now stared at Sweetie Belle in horror.

"I'm going to pray deeply that I never have the misfortune of hearing that again," Scootaloo groaned.

"Tell ya what, I'll give ya a minute's head start. Maybe if you're lucky you'll see Ruby or a zombie pony!" Apple Bloom proposed, trying to change the subject.

"Last one to hide is a rotten apple!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed, dashing off into the wilderness, tailed closely by the orange pegasus. Their loud voices could be heard as if they still remained right next to Apple Bloom.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS ZOMBIE AND/OR GHOSTBUSTERS!"

Apple Bloom, chuckling to herself, watched until they had vanished into the natural darkness that always clung to the forest. She considered herself fortunate to not only have friends that still liked her, even if she was now so different, and she vowed that she would still help them find their cutie marks. Some things never changed—even now they were playing hide-and-seek in what was definitely one of the most dangerous places in all of Equestria, just because they had been forbidden to go there. She was also glad that after talking about her experience that one fatal night, she could describe it comfortably and even crack jokes about it. Her only rule was that she would never, ever go into the forest at night. Speaking of that. She quickly bowed her head.

"Ruby, Ah hope this ain't too much to ask for, but if anything happens to 'em, keep 'em safe for me, please? Ah'll make it up to you somehow."

She took the opportunity to glance at her flank and admire for the thousandth time the cutie mark she had gained a week ago. A basket full of apples, with one pale yellow one balanced at the very top. Others of all different colors peeked out of the basket or rested outside of it. Finally she looked up and noticed that even the crashing noises of the fillies' hooves through the undergrowth couldn't be heard anymore. They had found their hiding places. She inhaled and then yelled in the loudest voice she could muster.

"Ya better run! Ah'm the big bad zombie pony and Ah'm comin' to get y'all!"


End file.
